Congratulations to WAYNE HORSBURGH on winning the A.C.E. Award (Australian Club Entertainment) in the Country Male Act category for 2004. This is the second time Wayne has won this award. From December 2004 to March 2005, Wayne is performing in Australia, including the Love That Country Music show that also stars DONNA BOYD and features Bob Howe & Greg Hooper.
The 2004 Galston Country Music Festival from Fri. 10th to Sun. 12th Sept. was once more a BIG success! Frank is the Patron of the event and was delighted with the huge response. The enormous line-up of talent included Frank Ifield International Spur Award winners such as Michael Carr, Karen O’Shea (as part of the group BELLA), Donna Boyd and Graham G. Toole.
DONNA BOYD appeared at almost every event during Sydney Country Music Week. That included the Galston Festival, singing at the Friday Festival Welcome & Artist Meet and Greet and co-hosting the Galston Club Saturday Spectacular and the main stage concert at Fagan Park on Sunday . Donna is pictured right, preparing to face the crowd at Fagan Park.
LOVE & FAREWELL TO MY ELDEST BROTHER JIM. With my spirits as high as the Qantas flight I was on, I returned home to Sydney on the 13th July. Everything had gone so smoothly over the last three months in the UK. Donna Boyd’s 46 tour dates were a sensational success and I had managed to line up so much for the year 2005. So, in my euphoria, I wasn’t expecting the trauma that was to greet my homecoming. The shock of learning that my eldest brother Jim had passed away on the very morning of the day of I arrived home was overwhelming. I had, only a few weeks before, phoned to wish him a happy 70th birthday and he sounded fine. Yes, it’s 
true he had been suffering for a long time with emphysema and I thought we had prepared ourselves for the inevitable, but it still came as a great shock to me and the whole family. I have consoled myself that Jim had died of a heart attack which was mercifully very quick, but I learned that he asked Mum the night before when I was returning. To Mum’s reply that I would be home tomorrow, he answered ‘Good then I can go’ I can only think that he had a premonition and as he took the role as head of the family being the eldest brother very seriously, I can only think he waited to pass on that responsibility to me as next in line. We would like to thank everyone for their condolences and concern for our family, in particular for my dear mother who now has lost three of her seven sons. Jim was buried in the same grave as his dear wife Elsie who passed away just two years earlier May they be eternally happy together, wherever they may be.
MY DEAR SON MARK Though my trip to the UK was hectic with little time to relax, it nonetheless had great personal moments of family reunion. I was able to spend a few days of high quality with my son Mark. The intervening years of staying in touch by e mail or phone, melted away and it was like yesterday once more. We talked up a storm, laughed till our sides ached and enjoyed the simplicity of sharing love for one another. Another highlight was being able to finally meet his devoted, and fun loving fiancee Sharon. She was such a joy to be with and I could easily see they were made for each other, and why they chose Disneyworld in Florida to be where they will tie the knot this November. Mark is a high flyer in I.T. and the technical world which is too intricate for me to write about in a few words so I recommend you see for yourself. (new link coming soon)
13 June 2004: Frank appeared on the DAVE CASH SHOW for BBC RADIO KENT, with noted UK Writer and Broadcaster PAUL HAZELL. During a three hour broadcast Frank, Paul and Dave discuss and play Australian Country Music. Listen to a replay of the show here… June 2004: Frank also appears on the RADIO LONDON Website with an article about himself, the Donna Boyd tour, Pauline Halford and Frank’s biography (nearing completion). More…
May 2004: From Frank – “… Donna Boyd’s All Roads Tour is certainly living up to its title. We have already made inroads into the north-western coast of Britain, with packed houses. The tour started with a concert in Preston, Lancashire at the Fort San Antone Club, which was like being transported back in time to the Old Wild West. We found ourselves surrounded by people dressed as frontiersmen, cowboys and indians, and outlaws and lawmen…and that was just the audience! The response to Donna’s performances were nothing short of wildly enthusiastic, and at the end of the night we were introduced to a man dressed as Billy The Kid who confessed to being the local priest! Our second night was in Nottingham, to do a concert performance where many of the audience became staunch Donna Boyd fans. The next day took us from Robin Hood country to the Beatles’ city of Liverpool where we would play the next 2 venues on the tour, including a mad round of radio interviews starting with Liverpool’s favourite DJ, Billy Butler.
Charlie Landsborough came to see Donna at Liverpool’s Straw Hat Club.
Below: Donna, Frank and Billy But
Donna’s acceptance so far in the UK has been very encouraging, and we’ve only just begun!”*** At the start of the tour, the latest Donna Boyd singles are charting globally! 10,000 PIECES has entered the European Chart at #5, while in Australia YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO is #5 with a bullet for the second week in a row! ***
April 27: – Frank left for the U.K. today to commence publicity for the U.K. tour of DONNA BOYD, winner of the 2003 Frank Ifield International Spur Award. Donna will perform 40 shows throughout England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales during May and June. CLICK HERE for the dates and venues. Listen out for Frank on radio and TV and who knows, you may even spot him in the audience at some of Donna’s shows! The article on the left appeared in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph on Friday 23rd April. To read the article, click on the image to enlarge it.
THE VOICE OF VEGAS I was delighted to be invited by my old friend Greg Bonham to see his show on Friday April 9 at South Sydney Jnr Leagues Club. It was a glittering occasion and included other showbiz guests such as Barry Crocker, Mark Kristian and Maria Venuti. Backed by a well rehearsed 8 piece band and 2 back up vocals not to mention a chorus line of eight beautifully dressed dancers, Greg gave a scintillating and polished performance with a wide range of show stopping songs while playing some great solos on his trumpet.
After the show Greg and I got down to reminiscing over the first time we met. It was back in 1985 at what was the Motor Club in Sydney and I’m pleased to say he has retained the same passion and desire to entertain the audience as he did back then. He reminded me of how I encouraged him to try his luck in England. Even though he was already a family man with a young daughter Rebel, the encouragement he received from his lovely wife Liz, he took on the challenge. My manager Ron Rowbottom took on his business affairs and within a few years he was not only a regular headliner at London’s famous theatre Restaurant ‘Talk Of The Town’ but also hosted his own TV show.
With the sweet smell of success he determined to take on America by moving the family to Orlando. Although I was aware of how well he was doing, we kinda lost track of one another. However, six years ago they moved to Nevada’s gambling city where today his name can be seen headlining several shows throughout the year which has earned him the title ‘The Voice Of Vegas’. Greg has a Big smile; a Big voice; and a ton of talent and I salute this Aussie battler for his tenaciousness to tackle the international world of showbiz and come out smiling.
From Frank: “I would personally like to congratulate my multi-talented friend and webmaster BOB HOWE who has won The Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism“. (Pictured left, Frank and Bob at the Corby Highland Gathering, UK, July 1985) The fourth annual Charlie Lamb Awards will be presented during the International Country Music Conference at Belmont University in Nashville on Friday, 28 May 2004. This international honour is awarded annually to two journalists. Bob has been honoured in the category that recognises a career of country music journalism. Bob will also be the featured luncheon speaker on Saturday 29 May 2004 at the Conference and will present a multimedia discussion of the current state of Australian country music. Visit https://shownet.com.au/bobhowe/journalism/ for a more detailed look at Bob’s career that spans Four Decades of Country Music Journalism and look for the interview with Frank from the early 1980s. April 28: The Rotary Club of Galston also honoured Bob, Helen Kay and Margaret Fagg with Community Service awards for their involvement and contribution towards the success of the Galston Country Music Festival.
And the winner is…Graham G Toole !
It was a gala night at Rooty Hill RSL Club in Sydney on March 18th when the winner of the 2004 Frank Ifield International Spur Award was announced. The award, which FRANK IFIELD presents in conjunction with Galston Country Music Festival, is an encouragement award with a focus on aspiring talent. Frank explains, “…I first became aware of GRAHAM G TOOLE at Bob Howe’s Canterbury Country Show last year. He impressed me as a highly professional performer with an excellent choice of songs. This prompted me to ask him for copy of his CD and I was surprised to find he had not released an album at the time. However, he did give me a copy of six tracks he had recorded, produced by Rod McCormack, with a view to completing an album sometime in the future. 
After playing the songs, I became more aware of Graham’s overall talent which led to my making him the choice for this year’s ‘International Spur Award’. As part of the award, I released his song That’s What Friends Are For in the UK and Europe where it instantly entered their play-list chart at number 20 (and has since risen to number 12). Hopefully this will inspire him to complete the album so we can enjoy more great songs from this exceptional Australian talent.” The concert that night featured previous Spur award-winners WAYNE LAW (2002), WAYNE HORSBURGH (2000 Millennium Achievement Award) and last year’s recipient DONNA BOYD and her band. Donna is about to embark on a U.K. tour to follow up on her recent European chart success where she reached Number 2 with Look Who’s Talking Now. There was also a surprise appearance by LUKE KOTERAS.
Frank writes:“…This young man’s name is LUKE KOTERAS and he was a winner of the VARIETY category at a Club Menai heat of ‘MATS’ – ‘MO’ AWARDS NATIONAL JUNIOR TALENT SEARCH. He is very impressive at 17 and plays guitar superbly like a young Tommy Emmanuel. Luke is pictured with myself and John Rowles at the ‘MO’ Award Golf Day. To my surprise I hit a number of excellent shots, considering I had not played in years!”
The photo above is of Frank and fellow judges NARELLE BROWN and KATHY WATSON at the MATS final heat on Feb 8th at Wonoona Bulli RSL Club. Frank is also Patron of ‘MATS’ – ‘MO’ AWARDS NATIONAL JUNIOR TALENT SEARCH.
FEB 4: Frank is delighted to report that LOOK WHO’S TALKING NOW, the latest UK single from International Spur Award winner DONNA BOYD, has reached Number 2 on the European Charts!
The 2004 TIARA (Tamworth Independent Artist Recognition Awards) Services to Industry Award was given to FRANK IFIELD for his commitment to the nurturing of talent through the International Spur Award and his ongoing involvement in the careers of many emerging artists. Frank is pictured above receiving the plaque from host Alan ‘Clem’ Clements of Radio 3MFM. Also that night former SPUR award winners were honoured: WAYNE LAW won the 2004 TIARA for Male Vocal and KAREN O’SHEA shared the Collaboration award with BILLY BRIDGE. Karen is now part of the group BELLA who won the prestigious Golden Guitar for ‘Vocal Group of the Year’ at this year’s Toyota Country Music Awards.
TAMWORTH – ROLL OF RENOWN CONCERT Saturday 17th January 2004, Tamworth Town Hall 2003 inductee Frank Ifield made the presentation to The Webb Brothers, the 26th name to be elevated to Australian country music’s highest honour. The Webb Brothers then made a surprise presentation to steel guitar maestro Kenny Kitching, who was playing in the backing band for the concert, and he was announced as the second 2004 inductee. This is the first time two inductions have taken place in any one year.
Sunday 18th January 2004 – Frank was a guest on BBC Radio’s The Ed Doolan Show.
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